The incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria has dramatically increased over the past decade. If not diagnosed and treated appropriately, these human pathogens can cause a range of life-threatening illnesses including septicemia and toxic shock syndrome. Early treatment of these infections has been associated with improved outcomes in patients. Clinical outcome studies have shown that reducing the time to diagnosis decreases the patient's length of stay and morbidity and mortality, leading to significant cost savings for the hospital. Standard microbiological methods in practice today require 24-72 hours to identify the causative pathogen in an infection. Therefore, there is an increasing need for rapid, easy-to-perform tests to identify antibiotic-resistant pathogens.